Mathew Kallumadil, Vice President of Technology & Innovation at Stellar MLS, joined hundreds of industry colleagues at the 22^nd annual CoreLogic Clareity conference in Arizona to share ideas for inspiring innovation and leveraging AI (artificial intelligence) within the residential real estate industry.

“Stellar MLS is thrilled to be featured among industry leaders at the CoreLogic conference and share best practices with our colleagues,” said Merri Jo Cowen, CEO of Stellar MLS, the largest multiple listing service in Florida and Puerto Rico and third-largest in the U.S. “Stellar MLS has been at the forefront of adapting new technologies to better serve our agents, brokers and ultimately, consumers.”

The CoreLogic event, held Feb. 25-28 at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia, attracted some 300 industry professionals from across the U.S. Panel discussions focused on how innovation will drive changes in the real estate industry, and in addition to Kallumadil, speakers included: Sam DeBord, CEO, Real Estate Standards Organization; Selma Hepp, chief economist, CoreLogic; Kevin Sears, president, National Association of Realtors; Leonard Kiefer, deputy chief economist, Freddie Mac; Errol Samuelson, Chief Industry Development Officer, Zillow; and Damian Eales, CEO, Realtor.com

Kallumadil was the featured presenter on “Practical Ways to Nurture Innovation” and suggested organizations encourage their teams to think creatively. “If you want to get the best out of your people, you have to build the right culture and environment to foster innovation,” he said. “If you restrict them, you’re going to get limited ideas, not the divergent thinking you really need. That’s the first step.”

He also advised colleagues to stay ahead of technological changes and have the capabilities and tools necessary to drive solutions. “As part of Stellar MLS’s journey, our focus was to gain as much insight into AI and other technologies and create internal capabilities before we started rolling out solutions for our customers,” Kallumadil said.

While acknowledging concerns surrounding AI and other technologies, Kallumadil said any disruptive innovation is scary. “Behind every innovation, there are innovators – people – so find those innovators on your teams, among your customers, and consider leveraging competitors into partners to face that disruption,” he said. “You will see the potential. AI will empower agents. Yes, some jobs will be lost, but some new ones will be created, too. Be realistic and determine where you want to lead your organization.”

One of the ways AI could be beneficial is dealing with biases, Kallumadil said. “There is a big concern that because there is human bias in the information, the data that AI receives, that AI also adopts those biases. I’m actually hopeful around that topic. It’s not easy to change a human bias, but with AI at least you have a chance to create something that is either free of bias or can be adjusted. In terms of housing, that could bring enormous benefits.”

About Stellar MLS

Stellar MLS is a technology-backed real estate service company that provides customers access to trusted, standardized data. Stellar MLS is the largest multiple listing service in the state of Florida and in Puerto Rico, and the third-largest in the U.S. With more than 84,000 customers and a dynamic vision, Stellar MLS is poised to help brokers and their agents thrive in tomorrow’s competitive real estate market with a comprehensive suite of the industry’s best products and world-class customer service. Stellar MLS makes the market work for real estate agents and brokers in 21 REALTOR® associations throughout Central and Southwest Florida and in Puerto Rico. For information visit www.stellarmls.com.